Ill. manufacturer to lay off 52 employees in Westminster

More than 50 employees could be losing their jobs at the Westminster facility of an Illinois-based manufacturer. 

According to the MassHire Department of Career Services, Illinois Tool Works, doing business in town as ITW Air Flow Management, will lay off 52 employees in April. 

A human resources worker at the facility sent a request for comment to the company’s corporate office in Illinois. Emails and calls requesting comment were not returned. 

In a letter to town officials, the company said business was being transferred to other ITW locations due to “business considerations.”

Town Planner Stephen Wallace said the layoffs represent less than half of the employees at the facility. 

The layoffs were reported to the state on Feb. 12, just two days before the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1 per share for the first quarter of 2019. That dividend will be paid in April.

On Feb. 1, ITW said its 2018 revenue of $14.8 billion increased 3 percent while its net income rose more than 34 percent, from about $1.7 billion to $21.6 billion.